In this “Off Script” episode of CPhT Connect, host Mike Johnston, CPhT-Adv, goes solo to tackle a feeling almost every pharmacy technician knows well: imposter syndrome. After 27 years running NPTA, Mike admits there are still days he feels like an imposter, and he shares what took him far too long to learn: the feeling is never going to leave, so you can’t wait for it to go quiet before you act.
Mike traces the idea back to its 1978 origins, when two therapists described an “imposter phenomenon” in a small group of high-achieving women, and explains how “phenomenon” quietly became “syndrome” and moved the problem from the room onto the individual. He walks through the research, including a notable gap: studies have looked at pharmacy students, residents, faculty, nurses, and physicians, but not one published study asks pharmacy technicians whether they feel like they belong. Mike also explains where that inner voice comes from, why it comes back at every new level, and what to do about it on a real Tuesday morning.
In this episode, we discuss:

• Phenomenon vs. Syndrome: How one word changed the story, and why calling it a condition to fix can keep talented people waiting on the sidelines.
• You’re in the Majority: Why a 2025 analysis of about 11,000 healthcare workers found imposter feelings in 62% of them, and why 57.5% of pharmacy residents screened positive too.
• The Room or the Wiring: The two places Mike says the voice usually comes from, a workplace that never tells you you’re good or a belief wired in long before you ever worked in pharmacy, and why neither one is evidence about who you are today.
• The Technician Research Gap: What it means that almost half a million technicians have not been the subject of a single published study on this topic.
• Do It Scared: Why confidence shows up after you act, why the feeling returns at every new level, and three steps you can take this week without anyone’s permission.

About Our Host:
Mike Johnston, CPhT-Adv, is the founder and CEO of NPTA and founder of BPTS. For 27 years he has helped pharmacy technicians grow their careers, and he brings that experience, and his own honesty about still feeling it, to this episode.

This episode is part of CPhT Connect’s partnership with the Pharmacy Podcast Network.
Listen now to hear why the feeling is real but the verdict is wrong, and why you don’t need a cure, just a next step.